Legislative board game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A game adapted to simulate the procedural steps in enacting public laws. The procedural steps include legislative consideration, executive action of legislative bills passed by the legislature and action taken by the legislature to override any executive veto. The game apparatus includes a playing board having spaces marked thereon. A plurality of distinctive playing pieces carry indicia to designate a legislative bill being sponsored by each player. The determination of the path and extent of movement of each playing piece for each player is determined by chance in accordance with prescribed rules of play.

United States Patent 11 1 1 1 3,889,955

Welch et a1. 1 1 June 17, 1975 LEGISLATIVE BOARD GAME APPARATUS3,545,762 12/1970 Atkinson 273/134 B Inventors: verlon Welch 7,709 Arlen3,643.958 2/1972 Sperber 273/134 AD Annandale, Va. 22003; Dreama B.Hinton, 4903 Southland Ave., Alexandria, Va. 22312 [22] Filed: July 5,1974 57 ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 486,253 A game adapted to simulate theprocedural steps in enacting public laws. The procedural steps includelegislative consideration, executive action of legisla- [52] 273/134273/134 3 tive bills passed by the legislature and action taken by [5]]Int Cl A6 3/00 the legislature to override any executive veto. The i gapparatus includes a p y g board h g [58] held of Search 273/134, 137spaces marked thereon. A plurality of distinctive p dicia to designate alegislative bill [56] References CIted pleces carry m bemg sponsored byeach player. The determ1nat1on of UNITED STATES PATENTS the path andextent of movement of each playing 398,233 2/1889 Clarke 273/134 C UX ie for each player is determined by chance in ac- 2,209,117 7/1940Garrett.. 273/134 C cordance with prescribed rules of play.

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TO REPORT BILL SUBCOMMITTEE SU BOOM MITTEE LEGISLATIVE BOARD GAMEAPPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to aneducational game which simulates the legislative procedure required toenact public laws from legislative bills introduced and passed by thelegislature and acted upon by the executive branch of the Government.

While the Government of the United States is a unique one in the world,there are many people in the United States who do not fully understandthe governmental and political processes involved. More specifically,even though the structure and procedures of the United States Governmentare taught in all the schools, there still remain many people who do notfully under stand how a public law is enacted. Such an understandingmany times can only be effected when a person has the opportunity toactually perform the steps in the procedure.

PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION I The primary object of this invention is toprovide a game that is educational in nature in that each player mayintroduce a bill into the House of Representatives or the Senate of theUnited States Congress and carry it through to final approval in theexecutive branch.

It is another object of this invention to provide an educational gamewhich incorporates the steps and rules as are actually used in theUnited States Congress and as are guided by a parliamentarian.

A further object of the invention is to provide a game board having twoalternative legislative paths corresponding to the movement of alegislative bill through either the House of Representatives or theSenate of the United States Congress with subsequent movement of thebill through appropriate parliamentary procedural steps leading eitherto the enactment or failure of the proposed legislation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide spaces on aplaying board which designate the action ofjoint conference committees,executive action on an approved legislative bill, and subsequentCongressional action where the executive vetoes the legislative bill.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects are accomplishedthrough the use of the game apparatus as described herein. The gamecomprises, in combination, a playing board having spaces locatedthereon. A first plurality of the spaces defines alternative legislativeplaying paths including a common starting space and finishing spacesrepresenting executive review. Certain of the first plurality of spacesinclude play regulating legends representing sequential proceduralsteps. Others of the first plurality of spaces are interspersed amongthe legended spaces which bear indicia representing certain alternativeparliamentary rulings. The parliamentary rulings are requested in aprescribed manner of a player designated as the parliamentarian by anyplayer whose playing piece lands on such a space. Each player has aplaying piece adapted to indicate specific bills corresponding to eachof the several players. That is, each playing piece includes meansdisposed thereon for designating either a House or a Senate bill beingprocessed by a specific player. The particular path and extent ofmovement of each playing piece is determined by chance such as by diceor a spinner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Other objects of this invention willappear in the following description and appended claims, reference beingmade to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specificationwherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in theseveral views.

FIGS. 1 and 1A are complementary plan views which when juxtaposed show agame board made in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a playing piece made inaccordance with this invention; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another playing piece made in accordancewith this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS More specifically, reference beingmade to the drawings, a substantially square game board, generallydesignated20, includes a playing surface 18 having peripheral portions21. A plurality of playing spaces 22 are marked with suitable indiciaalong the peripheral portions 21. Legends 23 represent sequentialprocedural steps and numbers interspersed among the legended spaces 23represent certain alternative parliamentary rulings.

A first plurality of the spaces are located along the peripheral portion21 and include a common starting space 25 designated Bill Hopper." Thefirst plurality of spaces defines alternative legislative playing paths26 and 27 and are labeled House Bill and Senate Bill, respectively.

A player may introduce a bill into either the House or the Senate asindicated. The House Bill" path 26 includes a House portion 28 extendingalong one side of the board 20 and a Senate portion 29 extending along asecond side of the board 20. The Senate Bill" path 27 includes a Senateportion 30 extending from the Bill Hopper space 25 along one side of theboard to a House portion 31 extending along a further side of the board.The house and Senate Bill paths 26 and 27 come together in a commonfinishing space 32 located diagonally across board 20 from the commonstarting space 25. Square 32 follows three playing spaces in each path26 and 27 successively legended Bill Fails to Pass," Bill Passes, andRequest Conference With House (or Senate).

A plurality of playing spaces 33 constitute a conference path and arenumbered 1 through 8. In this particular embodiment, the conference pathextends obliquely and inwardly of the common space 32 forming an arrowpointing to the playing space 34 designated White House. Playing spaces33 include divided and legended portions 1 through 6 which indicateconference action and subsequent House and Senate concurrence. Theconference path spaces 33 extend the legislating playing paths 26 and 27formed along the peripheral portions 21. Once the bill reported by theconference committee has been concurred in by both the House and theSenate, it is enrolled and sent to the White House space 34 forexecutive approval.

If approved, the bill" follows a signature route from White House space34 to an adjacent playing space 35 designated Public Law Signed. Ifvetoed, the bill may move into playing spaces 36 constituting a vetoroute where the executive veto may be overridden. If the legislaturefails to override the veto, it is sustained and the player mustintroduce a new bill. If both houses of Congress override the veto, thebill is advanced to playing space 37 constituting Public Law WithoutSignature.

A playing piece 14 shown in FIG. 2 includes a transparent window orslide 15 which receives an indicia bearing card 16. The indiciaidentifies the legislative bill by its house of origin and the number,e.g., HR 10. The embodiment of FIG. 3 shows playing piece 12 having anupper surface adapted to receive an erasable mark or a self-adheringlabel 17 marked with an appropriate bill designation.

The movement of the several bills" or playing pieces 12 and 14 along thegame board 20 is determined by chance using selecting means such as diceor a spinner. The objective of the game is to be the first player tomove one or a specified number of playing pieces or bills" through thelegislative processes to become a law.

RULES OF PLAY The use of a single die is assumed for the chanceselecting means. An odd number indicates that the House path 26 will befollowed since the House of Representatives has 435 members, an oddnumber. An even number means to follow Senate path 27 because the UnitedStates Congress has 100 Senators, an even number. A playing piece isthen selected and marked with an appropriate number by each player. Theroll of the die or other selecting means then determines the extent ofeach player's move or turn through the legislative paths 26 and 27.However, different rules apply for the movement of the playing piecesthrough the Conference, Bill Signing, and Veto routes as describedhereinbelow.

As the players pieces are moved along the path 26 and path 27, they mayland on the legended spaces 23. The legended spaces 23 indicateconsideration of pending legislation by subcommittees, full committeesand by the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives beforeconsideration and/or debate by the House or Senate. The legends 23 areused to regulate the movement of the playing piece landing thereon. If abill" is rejected in any of the legended spaces 23, the player mustintroduce a new bill in the same body where such rejection occurred. Ifthe bill is rejected in the second legislative body having progressedthrough the first legislative body, the rejected bill may bereintroduced in the second body. This is accomplished by placing the newbill on the appropriate diagonal corner space 38 or 39. The diagonalspaces 38 and 39 are not counted in the normal movement of a bill fromone body to the other.

The numbered squares 24 correspond to play regulating parliamentaryprocedural rulings similar to those used in Congress. When a bill landson a numbered space 24, the player must ask the parliamentarian for theapplicable rule in the prescribed manner before completing his turn.Failure to inquire will constitute forfeiture of that turn and requirethe players bill to be returned to where it was before that turn of playbegan.

Except when the Vice-President presides over the Senate, the presidingofficer in each house of Congress is a member elected by a majority voteof his colleagues in each body. The presiding officer of the Senate isknown as the President of the Senate. He is addressed as Mr. President.The presiding officer selected in the House of Representatives is theSpeaker of the House" and is addressed as Mr. Speaker.

One of the duties of each presiding officer is to promote the flow ofdebate and to regulate the procedure in discovering the purpose and/orimpact of proposed legislation. Many times during debate, a member ofthe body becomes unsure of the time alloted, the germaneness of anamendment, or of other parliamentary questions that requireclarification. Accordingly, a request is made of the Speaker or thePresident for an appropriate ruling. Therefore, a player whose playingpiece lands on a numbered playing space 24 in the Senate portions 29 and30 states his request Mr. President, a parliamentary inquiry for spacenumber Similarly, a player whose playing piece lands on a numberedplaying space 24 in the House portions 28 and 31 should request Mr.Speaker, a parliamentary inquiry for space number Appropriate responsesare made by the parliamentarian for the several numbered spaces asfollows:

1. Subcommittee Chairman not agreeable to holding hearings at this time.Lose next turn.

2. Printing problem with report. Lose next turn.

3. Committee Chairman has approval to go straight to Floor Debate."

4. Lincoln Day Recess. Lose next turn.

5. Non-controversial bill. Move to last day of floor debate.

6. Committee Staff organizing material. Lose next turn.

7. Memorial Day recess. Lose next turn.

8. Prolonged debate; held over until the next day.

Stay in place until next turn.

9. Receive word of Presidential Veto if bill remains in present form.Return to full Committee to work out the differences.

10. President asks for early action. Move through debate and requestconference with other body.

1 1. Majority Leader asks for immediate action. Skip next space.

12. Senate filibuster. Must roll a l or 6 to continue.

13. Night session necessary. Go again.

14. No Quorum. Lose next turn.

15. Delay necessitated by scheduling of emergency legislation. Lose nextturn.

16. Leadership modifies position. Move forward one space.

Regardless of the die number rolled, each player must stop at the spacenumbered 1" and designated Conferees Named at the beginning of theConference route on the playing spaces 33. Each player is allowed tomove only one space per turn on roll of the die through the first threespaces of the Conference route. A player with a House bill must roll anodd number. A player with a Senate bill" must roll an even number. Theright to move to the Conference route spaces 4 and 5 is determined byrolling either an odd or even number as before. However, each player onthe next turn rolls the die to determine whether two spaces will bemoved with an even roll or if one space will be movedwith an odd roll.If the playing piece lands on space 4, the bill" must be moved back tospace 2 in the Conference route. Unless a player reaches the Conferenceroute space 5 by the third attempt, a new bill must be introduced intothe Bill Hopper 25.

To move to Conference route spaces 6 and 7, each player must first rollto determine the right to move as indicated above. The players must thenagain roll to determine how manyspaces will be moved as discussed above.To move to the Conference route space 8, a player must roll an unevennumber whereupon his bill moves directly to the White House space 34.

In enacting a law, it is required that a bill must be passed by bothhouses of Congress in identical form before it can be presented to thePresident for his signature. Thus, the rules for the Conference routeportion introduce increased difficulty in movement of the playingpieces. A representative group named from each body forms a conferencecommittee. The conference committee resolves differences in pastlegislation and presents an identical bill to both bodies. Only after anidentical bill has been reported by the conference committee andapproved by both houses of Congress can the enrolled bill be presentedto the President for his consideration.

Depending upon the roll of the die or the operation of a selectingmeans, the bill is either signed by the President and moved to thePublic Law space 35, remains at the White House" space until the nextturn or is vetoed. For example, if the player rolls a 1 or a 6", theplayer might move his piece to space 35. If a 3" or a 5 is rolled, thebill remains in the White House until the next turn. If the player rollseither a 2" or a 4, the bill has been vetoed.

To override the veto in either body, a player must roll a predeterminednumber such as a 1 or a 6 before moving from one block to anotherfollowing the arrows 40 and 41. When the veto is overridden in bothhouses, the bill is advanced as indicated by arrows 42 and 43 to thePublic Law Without Signature space 37. However, after three attemptswithout rolling either a 1 or a 6, the veto is sustained and the playermust introduce a new bill at the Bill Hopper space 25.

To override a presidental veto, each house of Congress must vote tooverride by at least a two'thirds majority of those present and votingas provided in the Constitution of the United States. Therefore, thedegree of difficulty of movement of the bill is increased through thisportion of the game board. With 435 members of the House present andvoting, it would require 290 votes to override the veto. With all 100Senate members present and voting, it would require 67 senators tooverride the veto.

While the legislative game has been shown and described in detail, it isobvious that this invention is not to be considered as being limited tothe exact form disclosed, and that changes in detail and constructionmay be made therein within the scope of the invention, without departingfrom the spirit thereof.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, whatis claimed is:

1. A game adapted to increase appreciation and knowledge of proceduralsteps for enacting a public law, said game comprising in combination:

a. a game board having spaces located thereon,

b. a first plurality of said spaces defining alternative legislativeplaying paths including a common starting space,

c. a space representing executive review,

d. a second plurality of said spaces extending from the executive reviewspace and defining a veto overriding route terminating in a spacedesignated Public Law,

e. several of said first plurality of spaces having legends thereonrepresenting sequential procedural steps and others of said firstplurality of spaces being interspersed among said legended spaces andbearing indicia representing certain alternative parliamentary rulings,

f. a plurality of playing pieces adapted to indicate specific billscorresponding to each of the several players, and

g. means for determining by chance the path and extent of movement ofeach playing piece.

2. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein said alternative legislativepaths include a first path representing legislative action on billsintroduced in a House of Representatives and a second path representinglegislative action on bills introduced in a Senate.

3. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said playing piecesincludes means disposed thereon for designating a House or Senate billbeing processed by a specific player.

4. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said playing piecesincludes a finished surface thereon adapted to receive indiciadesignating a House or Senate bill being processed by a specific player.

5. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said playing piecesincludes a transparent window thereon adapted to slidably receive anindicia bearing member to designate a House or Senate bill beingprocessed by a specific player.

6. A game adapted to increase appreciation and knowledge of proceduralsteps for enacting a public law, said game comprising in combination:

a. a game board having spaces disposed thereon,

b. a first plurality of said spaces defining alternative legislativeplaying paths including a common starting space,

c. a preselected number of said first plurality of spaces having legendsthereon representing sequential legislative steps and the remainingspaces being interspersed among said legended spaces and includingindicia representing certain alternative parliamentary rulings,

d. a second plurality of said spaces defining alternative conferencepaths leading from said alternative legislative paths to an executivereview space designated White House,

e. a third plurality of said spaces extending from said executive reviewspace and defining alternative veto overriding paths terminating in aspace designated Public Law,

f. a plurality of playing pieces adapted to indicate specific billscorresponding to each of the several players, and

g. means for determining by chance the path and extent of movement ofeach playing piece.

7. A game as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said playing piecesincludes means disposed thereon for designating a House or Senate billbeing processed by a specific player.

8. A game as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said playing piecesincludes a finished surface thereon adapted to receive indiciadesignating a House or Senate bill being processed by a specific player.

9. A game as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said playing piecesincludes a transparent window thereon adapted to slidably receive anindicia bearing member to designate a House or Senate bill beingprocessed by a specific player.

10. A game adapted to increase appreciation and knowledge of theprocedural steps involved in the enactment of a public law, said gamecomprising in combination:

a. a game board having a first plurality of spaces disposed along itsperipheral portions,

b. said spaces constituting two alternative legislative playing pathsincluding a common starting space and a common finishing space,

c. certain of said spaces including first indicia representingsequential legislative steps and others of said spaces beinginterspersed among said certain indicia bearing spaces,

(1. said other spaces including second indicia repreg. said thirdplurality of spaces defining alternative veto overriding pathsterminating in a space designated Public Law Without Signature,

h. a plurality of playing pieces including means adapted to indicatespecific bills and corresponding to each of the several players, and

means for determining by chance the path and extent of movement of eachplaying piece along the spaces on the game board.

1. A game adapted to increase appreciation and knowledge of proceduralsteps for enacting a public law, said game comprising in combination: a.a game board having spaces located thereon, b. a first plurality of saidspaces defining alternative legislative playing paths including a commonstarting space, c. a space representing executive review, d. a secondplurality of said spaces extending from the executive review space anddefining a veto overriding route terminating in a space designated''''Public Law,'''' e. several of said first plurality of spaces havinglegends thereon representing sequential procedural steps and others ofsaid first plurality of spaces being interspersed among said legendedspaces and bearing indicia representing certain alternativeparliamentary rulings, f. a plurality of playing pieces adapted toindicate specific bills corresponding to each of the several players,and g. means for determining by chance the path and extent of movementof each playing piece.
 2. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein saidalternative legislative paths include a first path representinglegislative action on bills introduced in a House of Representatives anda second path representing legislative action on bills introduced in aSenate.
 3. A game as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said playingpieces includes means disposed thereon for designating a House or Senatebill being processed by a specific player.
 4. A game as defined in claim1 wherein each of said playing pieces includes a finished surfacethereon adapted to receive indicia designating a House or Senate billbeing processed by a specific player.
 5. A game as defined in claim 1wherein each of said playing pieces includes a transparent windowthereon adapted to slidably receive an indicia bearing member todesignate a House or Senate bill being procEssed by a specific player.6. A game adapted to increase appreciation and knowledge of proceduralsteps for enacting a public law, said game comprising in combination: a.a game board having spaces disposed thereon, b. a first plurality ofsaid spaces defining alternative legislative playing paths including acommon starting space, c. a preselected number of said first pluralityof spaces having legends thereon representing sequential legislativesteps and the remaining spaces being interspersed among said legendedspaces and including indicia representing certain alternativeparliamentary rulings, d. a second plurality of said spaces definingalternative conference paths leading from said alternative legislativepaths to an executive review space designated ''''White House,'''' e. athird plurality of said spaces extending from said executive reviewspace and defining alternative veto overriding paths terminating in aspace designated ''''Public Law,'''' f. a plurality of playing piecesadapted to indicate specific bills corresponding to each of the severalplayers, and g. means for determining by chance the path and extent ofmovement of each playing piece.
 7. A game as defined in claim 6 whereineach of said playing pieces includes means disposed thereon fordesignating a House or Senate bill being processed by a specific player.8. A game as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said playing piecesincludes a finished surface thereon adapted to receive indiciadesignating a House or Senate bill being processed by a specific player.9. A game as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said playing piecesincludes a transparent window thereon adapted to slidably receive anindicia bearing member to designate a House or Senate bill beingprocessed by a specific player.
 10. A game adapted to increaseappreciation and knowledge of the procedural steps involved in theenactment of a public law, said game comprising in combination: a. agame board having a first plurality of spaces disposed along itsperipheral portions, b. said spaces constituting two alternativelegislative playing paths including a common starting space and a commonfinishing space, c. certain of said spaces including first indiciarepresenting sequential legislative steps and others of said spacesbeing interspersed among said certain indicia bearing spaces, d. saidother spaces including second indicia representing several alternativeparliamentary procedural rulings, e. said game board having a secondplurality of spaces defining alternative conference paths leading tospaces separately entitled ''''Bill Enrolled,'''' ''''Send to WhiteHouse'''' and ''''White House,'''' f. said game board having spacesseparately designated ''''Public Law Signed'''' and ''''Veto Route''''and a third plurality of spaces extending from said ''''Veto Route''''space, g. said third plurality of spaces defining alternative vetooverriding paths terminating in a space designated ''''Public Law -Without Signature,'''' h. a plurality of playing pieces including meansadapted to indicate specific bills and corresponding to each of theseveral players, and i. means for determining by chance the path andextent of movement of each playing piece along the spaces on the gameboard.